The present invention relates to worklights of the type having two or more worklight heads mounted on a portable base.
Portable worklights have proved useful in a variety of settings such as construction sites, industrial plants, automotive and auto body repair shops, artist and photographic studios, and around the home for do-it-yourself projects. These lights provide a high level of illumination over an extended area. In one format the lights are provided with a low built-in supporting base forming a stand that can be set directly on the ground or other work surface in a stable position. In another format the lights are intended to be set on a separate upright stand such as a tripod for greater height off the ground or work surface. Lights of this type are formed with a support frame that is adapted to be attachable to the tripod. Examples of such portable worklights are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,507 of Atkins et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,278 of Grossman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,989 of Leen; and D381,114 of Xu.
Some attempts have been made to provide a convertible worklight that may be used in both ways either mounted on a tripod support or as a stand-alone unit that can be placed directly on the work surface. U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,358 of Hillinger, for example, discloses a light assembly with two quartz halogen worklight heads. Each head has attached legs that may be splayed apart to form a self-contained stand so that the individual light head may be used as a stand-alone unit. The legs may alternatively be folded together and inserted into a frame member that may be supported in turn on a vertical stand. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,213,626 and 5,205,645 show a single worklight head that has a foldable leg/bracket arrangement. With the legs unfolded the worklight head may be used as a stand-alone unit. The legs folded together form a supporting bracket that may then be bolted directly to an elevating stand. More recently, a convertible worklight unit has become commercially available under the trade designation The Designers Edge that has a pair of quartz halogen worklight heads mounted on a framework that forms a stand permitting the pair of worklight heads to be placed as a unit directly on a work surface without the necessity of unfolding legs or brackets on the individual worklight heads. The stand is formed with a central aperture to permit the unit to be bolted to an elevating tripod.
The present invention provides a dual-use portable worklight assembly that is particularly adapted to facilitate an easy and convenient changeover between use as a stand-alone unit and use as a mounted unit. With only a minimum of effort the user may change over from a worklight assembly used as a stand-alone unit positionable on a work surface and a worklight assembly mounted on a tripod or other elevating support structure.
Briefly, the worklight assembly includes one or more worklight heads that are mounted on a base portion, which is formed at its lower reaches to engage the work surface and serve as a built-in stand providing support for the worklight assembly when the assembly is used as a stand-alone unit positioned on the work surface. A mounting mechanism is provided for alternatively mounting base portion on an elevating support structure such as a tripod and demounting the base portion from the elevating support structure. The mounting mechanism is captured on the worklight assembly so as to be retained with the assembly when the assembly is used as a stand-alone unit, yet the mechanism is in a ready operative disposition on the worklight assembly ready for attachment to the elevating support structure. The mounting mechanism has a disposition on the worklight assembly free from interference with and avoiding engagement with the work surface when the assembly is positioned as a stand-alone unit on the work surface. In multi-head embodiments an electrical junction is disposed on the worklight assembly for distributing electrical power to the worklight heads.
The worklight assembly is self-contained, is easy to mount on and remove from an elevating support structure, may be made in a compact, well-balanced format, is cost-effective to manufacture, allows for one-step mounting and demounting, and can be formed with no normally separable parts to keep track of.
In at least one of its embodiments the invention provides for a simple xe2x80x9cposition and turnxe2x80x9d procedure for mounting the worklight assembly on an elevating support structure. The worklight assembly is merely positioned on the elevating support structure and a knob is turned to tighten down the assembly thereby offering a great convenience to the user. A compact, well-balanced form of the worklight assembly contributes to the ease with which the assembly can be mounted on and demounted from the elevating support structure.
In one compact, lightweight, economically manufactured, and easily manipulated embodiment of the invention the base portion is provided by a linearly extending support member on which the worklight heads are attached. Two tubular members at opposite lateral ends of the support member define the support feet for engaging the work surface. A centrally disposed handle member defines a grip member that is advantageously positioned to facilitate manipulating the worklight assembly while mounting it on a tripod or other elevating support structure. The electrical distribution junction may be mounted directly on the worklight assembly, for example, on the centrally disposed handle member.
Other aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention are described below or will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specifications and drawings of illustrative embodiments.